1. Mike Woodson has refused the temptation of starting Amar’e Stoudemire despite injuries and illness on the front line. When Carmelo Anthony went down with a sprained ankle for three games, Stoudemire stayed in his bench role. When Tyson Chandler went down with an upper respiratory infection, and before that a broken leg, Woodson didn’t think once of starting Stoudemire. He has kept him in his bench role and Stoudemire looks as comfortable as ever.

Stoudemire despises the Heat, going all the way back to 2010 free agency. Stoudemire would’ve loved to join the LeBron James-Dwayne Wade pairing in Miami, but they chose Chris Bosh over him. Stoudemire has never forgotten it, and Thursday he looked a lot more powerful than a listless Bosh in putting up a rare and David Lee-esque double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He was also a plus-19.

The Knicks are last in the league in points in the paint, but they notched 52 on Thursday. Stoudemire was getting his nose dirty inside and protected the rim in the fourth quarter as Bosh put up a meager six points. Stoudemire keeps improving while staying healthy and rebounding – his big weakness. Of course, his health could change in a heartbeat, but so far so good. He logged 26 minutes vs. Miami and played well with Anthony.

“That was probably the first time we played STAT down the stretch,’’ Woodson said. “He did what we asked of him: rebounding the basketball. We need STAT to do that.’’

2. Anthony filled up the box score in LeBron James-like fashion and got better as the game wore on instead of his usual fourth-quarter fade. He wound up hitting three of five 3-pointers in the second half, including the game-sealing trey with 2:19 to go. In December, he would’ve missed that shot.

The line looked great – 29 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals — but the winning plays in the fourth quarter mattered most. In the past 10 Knicks wins, Anthony has had at least four assists. There’s a definite correlation. He’s playing at a real high level with a real high motor that’s now catching on with his teammates. He’s making them better.

3. With J.R. Smith being punished by Woodson, the coach used a strict eight-man rotation and rookie guard Toure’ Murry was part of it. With Beno Udrih out with knee swelling, Murry was Raymond Felton’s backup and very serviceable in his 9:31 of action. He took one shot and made it, but the team functions well with him on the court because he has length and defends. When Pablo Prigioni is healthy, Woodson actually has four point guards who are competent. There are no stars in the bunch, but it’s unlikely anyone in the league is as deep at the position.